


Please Leave The Light On

by thedemonkingawakes



Series: Keep Your Friends Close [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Memories, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-09
Updated: 2014-09-09
Packaged: 2018-02-16 19:16:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2281473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedemonkingawakes/pseuds/thedemonkingawakes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The conclusion to the Keep Your Friends Close trilogy.<br/>Bucky and Steve are finally reunited and although it might be two steps forward and one step back, they'll get through it together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Please Leave The Light On

The rain poured down, soaking through Bucky’s jacket and chilling him to the bone. He didn’t move from his spot on the park bench, despite the pouring rain. Memories cascaded through his mind, memories of a childhood spent with Steve in Brooklyn. He could remember running home with Steve in the rain, shortening his stride to keep pace with Steve.  He could remember cold nights, huddled together in Steve’s apartment for warmth. Bucky’s muscles clenched as pleasant memories gave way to memories of pain and torture.

~*~*~

_The metal bar lost its grip on the side of the train and fell, sending it and Bucky plummeting into the canyon. He could hear Steve screaming something, maybe his name, and then there was darkness._

_Bucky woke slowly. He was being dragged carelessly through the cold snow. After a moment, Bucky's sluggish brain caught up with reality. His shoulder was burning hot and freezing cold all at once and he couldn’t feel his arm at all. Bucky tried to sit up, but fell back weakly._

_When Bucky next woke up, he was in a lab, lying on a cold metal table._

_“Better me than you punk." Bucky whispered._

_A wave of pain swept through Bucky, obliterating all thought. Struggling not to lose himself to the pain, Bucky started repeating his name, rank and number._

_“Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, 32557.”_

_“Sergeant James Barnes, 32557.”_

_Another wave of pain crashed over Bucky and he nearly passed out again._

_“Sergeant Barnes, 32557.”_

_“Barnes...32557.”_

_A jolt of electricity raced through Bucky’s body._

_“Bucky.”_

_Another jolt of electricity, more powerful than the first, shot through Bucky. As he slipped into the blissful release of unconsciousness, he could hear Steve’s voice in his head. ‘Buck.’_

~*~*~

Bucky growled and stood up, shoving the memories to the back of his mind, back behind a brick wall. He started walking towards the center of the city, pulling the sleeves of his leather jacket down farther so they covered his hands.

Despite the rain, the sidewalks were crowded, full of people rushing along, carrying umbrellas in an attempt to avoid getting wet. Bucky slipped into one of the back alleyways, letting his feet carry him along the familiar paths. Lost in thought, Bucky was only half surprised when he found himself in front of Steve’s apartment. He walked up the steps and stood in front of the door, not knocking, just standing there.

After several minutes, Bucky gave a little half sigh and turned to leave. He whirled around as the door opened and found himself face to face with Steve. Steve had a gym bag slung over his shoulder.

“Bucky.” Steve’s voice somehow managed to be both heartbroken and hopeful. He let the bag drop to the floor and stepped forward, pulling Bucky into a tight hug. Bucky awkwardly returned the hug with his right arm, leaving his metal arm by his side. After a few seconds, Bucky pulled away.

“Were you going somewhere?” Bucky asked, taking a few steps back.

“Nowhere important. Come on in.”

“I was just leaving.”

“You don’t have to. We’ll put some couch cushions on the floor; it’ll be just like old times.”

Hesitantly, Bucky followed Steve inside. He took a seat on the arm of one of the chairs, his muscles tensed, ready to leave.  

Steve noticed it, but he didn’t say anything, hoping that Bucky would relax given a little time. “Do you want a drink? I have coffee, water, and I think Nat might have bought me a box of tea…”

“Just water, thanks.”

Steve handed Bucky a glass of water and sat down on the couch.

"I'm sorry," Bucky said suddenly. "For everything that happened in Washington."

"You can't blame yourself for that. I read your file, I know you didn't have a choice."

"Doesn't matter. I killed your commander and nearly killed you and your companions."

Steve walked over and crouched down so his face was level with Bucky's. "Listen to me, Bucky. You're not to blame for what happened in Washington. You want to blame someone, blame Hydra."

Steve made a move to hug Bucky, but Bucky recoiled backwards. "Don't."

Hands up in a calming gesture, Steve retreated to his spot on the couch.

"Sorry, I'm just not completely myself yet. The orders are still there in the back of my brain, telling me to kill you." Bucky stood up, setting the glass down on the table, and turned to leave. "I'd better go."

"Come on Buck. I wasn't kidding earlier, you can stay here. I have an extra bedroom, or we can put the couch cushions on the floor with a spare sheet."

"If you're sure it's no trouble."

"It's no trouble at all."

~*~*~

Bucky jerked awake, gasping for breath. He was freezing, despite the warmth of the room. A light knock on the frame of the door startled him and he whipped around, his eyes wild.

Bucky began talking in rapid fire Russian, his voice barely more than a whisper. Steve hurried over and crouched down beside him.

“Успокойся, ты в безопасности. это нормально. мы в безопасности.” Steve whispered the last part to himself more than Bucky. ( _Calm down, you're safe. It's okay. We're safe._ )

“Уходи, пожалуйста.” ( _Go away, please._ )

To his credit, Steve didn’t leave. Instead, he grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch and wrapped it around Bucky’s shaking shoulders.

Bucky leaned back against the couch, pulling the blanket tighter around his shoulders. Steve followed his lead, neither of them saying anything. They sat there for a long time. Eventually, Bucky fell back into an uneasy sleep, leaning against the couch. Steve stayed awake for a while longer, watching over his friend. Despite his best efforts, Steve drifted off around two in the morning, still sitting next to Bucky on the floor.

~*~*~

When Bucky awoke the next morning, his head was resting on Steve’s shoulder. Steve was still asleep, his breathing deep and even. Bucky carefully stood up and padded quietly into the kitchen. As he pulled open the door, he heard Steve’s sleepy voice behind him.

“You’re not planning on leaving are you?”

“I was planning on making breakfast, but since you’re up, you can make your own...punk.”

Bucky pulled several eggs from the fridge. Steve wandered into the kitchen behind him and started brewing coffee.

“Where do you keep the mixing bowls around here?” Bucky asked, opening several cabinets to look for a bowl to put the eggs in.

“Top shelf of the cupboard next to the fridge.”

Bucky pulled a bowl out and scrambled the eggs. He dumped them into a pan and took the mug of coffee Steve offered him. After a few minutes, Bucky divided the eggs onto two plates and sat down across from Steve at the kitchen table.

"Do you want to talk about your nightmare?" Steve asked as they started eating.

"What nightmare?"

Steve gave Bucky a look. "The one that made you wake up screaming last night."

Before Bucky could respond, Steve's phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and answered it.

"Hello, this is Captain Rogers.” He listen quietly for a moment. “Okay. See if you can find him. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

He hung up the phone and stood up, setting his dishes in the sink. “Sorry, Bucky, but I have to go. I should be back later.” Steve began moving quickly and purposefully around the apartment, grabbing his shield and a pair of guns.

“I’ll come with you.” Bucky said.

Steve stopped hurrying around and looked at Bucky. “Are you sure Buck?”

“Course. I couldn’t let you go running into trouble alone. You’d do something stupid.”

“I’d do something stupid…” Steve laughed. “That’s your job.”

“Punk.”

“Jerk.”

Bucky stepped forward and gave Steve a brief hug, his voice barely audible. “Thank you.”

Steve slung his shield onto his back and grabbed a set of keys from the hook by the door. “You have a gun or something?”

Bucky grabbed his jacket and pulled the handgun from its holster. Steve could see the knife tucked in his boot as well and nodded.

“You find Stark. I’ll help Barton and Romanoff.”

“How did you know what we were doing?”

“Hydra fine-tuned my hearing. All of my senses actually. Their goal was to create the perfect weapon and they succeeded.”

Steve placed a hand on Bucky’s shoulder. “Are you sure you want to come?”

“Yeah, c’mon let’s go. My motorcycle is two blocks over. I’ll meet you there.”

“I can drop you off.”

“I can run just fine. Don’t worry, I’ll catch up to you.”

Five minutes later, Steve and Bucky were zipping across the bridge side by side, headed for downtown Manhattan.

**Author's Note:**

> There we are. The end of the Keep Your Friends Close trilogy.  
> I wanted to get this up before school started, but as you might be able to guess, that didn't happen. Between sports and doing Sumer reading last minute, I ended up with very little time to write.  
> Anyway, it's up now. I'd love to know what you thought of it (or any CONSTRUCTIVE criticism you might have.)


End file.
